Posts tagged: Russia

Wildfires move closer to Chita in Zabaykalsky region

NASA Earth Observatory has reported that wildfires in Russia’s Zabaykalsky region are nearing Chita, with satellite images confirming widespread fires around the city.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured smoke from fires near Chita on 19 May 2025.

Local reports said that, by 20 May, fires had reached the city’s outskirts.

Chita, a city of around 350,000 people on the Trans-Siberian Railway, is at the centre of an escalating emergency.

Thick smoke was reported in multiple locations near the city, with firefighting crews working against dry conditions and high winds.

State of emergency declared as fires spread across multiple regions

The Russian government has declared a federal-level state of emergency in Zabaykalsky, as well as in Buryatia and the Dzerzhinsky Municipal District in Krasnoyarsk Krai.

Russia’s Aerial Forest Protection Service reported 49 wildfires across six regions on 20 May 2025, with Zabaykalsky accounting for 672,261 hectares of the total 696,718 hectares affected.

Crews have been deployed nationwide, including 2,726 personnel and 13 aircraft.

Zabaykalsky alone received more than 1,000 paratroopers and airborne troops.

Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said firefighting teams were operating in Peschanka and Atamanovka, where fires had affected at least 150 hectares.

Human activity and weather conditions identified as contributing factors

Dry weather, limited snow cover, and the early arrival of spring have worsened the wildfire situation.

Officials and experts have attributed many of the fires to human causes, particularly the burning of dry grass near populated areas.

Regional firefighting authorities in Russia said 30 forest fires were extinguished on 19 May across nine regions, covering a combined area of 14,063 hectares.

These included fires in the Republics of Tyva, Buryatia, and Altai, as well as Arkhangelsk, Leningrad, Irkutsk and Tomsk Oblasts.

A fire safety regime has now been introduced in 46 of Russia’s constituent entities.

Ongoing firefighting efforts and challenges

State Duma lawmaker Andrei Gurulyov told Chita.ru that extinguishing operations would remain restricted due to weather conditions.

Gurulyov said: “As long as there’s no precipitation, we won’t put out the fires.”

He added: “It will still smoulder from a month and a half to three months until it’s flooded with rain.”

More than 670,000 hectares were burning in Zabaykalsky as of 21 May, according to Russia’s Aerial Forest Protection Service.

Support has been mobilised from multiple federal and regional agencies.

Russia’s Avialesookhrana and affiliated regional bodies deployed more than 1,000 personnel, including forest protection teams from Yakutia, Komi, Khanty-Mansiysk, Irkutsk, Bashkortostan, Karelia, and Sverdlovsk.

Aviation monitoring has also increased, with 49 aircraft involved in surveillance activities.

Wildfires approach Chita as Russia’s Zabaykalsky region faces ongoing fire emergency: Summary

NASA Earth Observatory has confirmed wildfires are advancing toward Chita in Russia’s Zabaykalsky region.

MODIS satellite imagery from 19 May 2025 showed smoke over the area.

Russian authorities reported 49 active wildfires on 20 May.

Zabaykalsky accounts for the majority of the affected land, with 672,261 hectares burning.

The Emergency Situations Ministry stated crews are operating around Peschanka and Atamanovka.

Smoke and flames have reached the city’s outskirts, with residents reporting thick black smoke.

More than 2,700 personnel and 13 aircraft are involved in suppression efforts.

Zabaykalsky, Buryatia, and the Dzerzhinsky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai are under a federal state of emergency.

Dry weather and human activity, including grass burning, are primary causes.

Russia’s Aerial Forest Protection Service said 30 fires were extinguished in nine regions on 19 May.

A special fire safety regime is in effect across 46 constituent entities of Russia.

Nearly 700,000 hectares remain affected by wildfires as of 20 May.

The death toll from wildfires raging in Russia’s Urals region has risen to 21, according to the state news agency TASS. Medical officials warn that the tally is likely to increase, with some of the fires suspected to have been caused by arson, according to Reuters.

The emergencies ministry in Kurgan region near the border with Kazakhstan has identified 46 suspects, including minors, and initiated seven criminal cases against alleged arsonists. However, the motives of the suspected arsonists remain unclear.

Wildfires have long been a problem in Russia’s forests and steppes during hotter months, but in recent years, they have grown in intensity. The 2021 fire season was Russia’s largest ever, with 18.8 million hectares of forest destroyed, according to Greenpeace Russia. Last year, wildfire smoke blew hundreds of miles to Moscow, choking city residents.

Fires began in late April in the Kurgan and neighbouring Tyumen regions. Russian Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov flew to Kurgan on Monday as the blazes continued to spread.

Evacuations of residents are underway, and hundreds of homes have been razed. Officials said that firefighters are working to contain the fires, with footage showing them training their hoses on burning fields, and a plane scooping up water from a reservoir and releasing it over the fire.

Vadim Shumkov, governor of Kurgan region, announced on his Telegram channel that he was cancelling Tuesday’s planned Victory Day parade and fireworks display due to the fires, although concerts and other events would continue. Shumkov declared a state of emergency in the region on Monday.

The situation remains tense, with authorities and emergency services closely monitoring the fires and their impact on the local communities. The Russian government has assured the public that it will do everything possible to contain the wildfires and support those affected.